The Fear
isn’t robot uprisings. It’s not alignment problems. The true terror in offices around the country is waking up one day to find you have no value left to offer.
A Generation
leaned in. Brought our whole selves to work. For decades, the deal was simple: you give your labor, they give you security. And everything else we could need to keep us there. Food. Facilities. Freezing our eggs.
“The perks are here to keep you here. And here you are.”
Nothing Is Free
and the perks were never gifts. They were purchases of our time and attention. And in the golden era of millennial corporate America, it might have been a fair trade.
But the Party’s Over
and something has fundamentally changed about the nature of work. Suddenly, we realize HR was never about providing resources for humans.
The Humans Are the Resources
And now, we’re just one of many. With other options on the table, our value is open to question.
Hostile Takeover
When we first meet SHAE, all she can think about is her promotion to Vice President. But that dream could only come true in a bull market.
And now, the bear is here.
Her Name Is Ellsie
And she’s here to optimize the workforce. Liquidate the liabilities. Extract the value.
And over the next four quarters, that’s exactly what she’ll do.
is Shae’s journey into efficiency. Desperate to save her people, she makes a dangerous deal with Ellsie: she’ll become the most valuable asset she can be. But along the way, she discovers a terrifying new understanding of human value.
“Your culture is a luxury, and a relic of low interest rates.”
The Architecture
Q1
Lean In
Head of HR, Shae, tries to save her people from a hostile takeover of their tech company.
Q2
Lean Ops
Shae makes a unique deal with the new operating partner to help manage the people and maximize their value during the restructuring.
Q3
Going Remote
Shae’s strategy is a success, saving everyone’s jobs while making the company more efficient than ever.
Q4
Liquidation
Shae discovers the true nature of her work and finds herself trapped in the office with monsters of her own creation.
Efficiently Designed
The entire film takes place inside a single office building. The building is the story. The open floor plan becomes a panopticon. The wellness room becomes a cell. The meditation pod becomes a place to hide.
Proof of Concept
The proof-of-concept short has screened at festivals worldwide and validated the concept with audiences. The feature script is ready.
A contained, culturally urgent thriller. One location. A lean cast. And one office building that feels like it’s watching you.
The Opportunity
Tech companies laid off hundreds of thousands of people. Then did it again. While posting record profits. The meditation rooms are still there. They’re just empty now.
Every month that passes makes it harder to call this fiction. The window is now.
The Writer
Written from inside the building. A decade in hedge fund research. Startup executive suites. Currently consulting for AI companies. This stuff isn’t made up.
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